Yanks Gain Ground, Even as Ace Takes Another Step Back

By JORGE ARANGURE Jr.

August 30, 2013

Friday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles represented the start of what is essentially the last stand for the Yankees’ playoff chances.

Sitting five games back of the final wild-card spot at the start of the night — a surmountable, if not small, gap — the Yankees began a 10-game homestand. That stretch will include series with two of the teams ahead of them in the standings, the Orioles and the Boston Red Sox, with a three-game set against the feeble Chicago White Sox in between.

“I think they would have to be living on another planet to not know how important this stretch run is,” Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said before the game. “I think we need to play awfully well to get to where we want.”

The Yankees endured another sloppy start by their ace, C. C. Sabathia, but managed to defeat the Orioles, 8-5. The Yankees (71-63) now trail the Orioles (71-62) by one game in the loss column, and they assured themselves of gaining a game in the wild-card race because the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics played each other Friday night.

But Sabathia’s night gave the Yankees a reason for concern: it is almost impossible to imagine them reaching the postseason without him pitching well.

In an indication of how far Sabathia’s stock has fallen, he was removed from the game in the sixth inning with a man on first base and the Yankees clinging to a 7-5 lead. Sabathia had thrown only 86 pitches.

Girardi has been one of Sabathia’s most loyal supporters, but it seems that even he recognizes that Sabathia has not been the ace everyone is accustomed to.

“He’s not used to coming out of the game, but I thought it was time to make the move,” Girardi said. “I felt this game was pivotal.”

Robinson Cano rounding the bases on Alfonso Soriano’s two-run homer in the fourth. It was Soriano’s 12th home run in 31 games.

Suzy Allman for The New York Times

Sabathia has allowed five or more earned runs in five of his last eight starts, and his earned run average has ballooned to 4.91. He has never ended a season with an E.R.A. higher than that.

Sabathia was surprised, but not angry, that Girardi pulled him from the game so early.

“The way things have been going, I don’t blame him,” Sabathia said.

In the first three innings, Sabathia appeared to have regained his form. He retired the 10 batters he faced before Manny Machado hit a bloop double to right field in the fourth inning. Machado later scored on a single by Chris Davis.

The Yankees countered in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez walked Robinson Cano. Alfonso Soriano followed with a two-run homer to right field, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

At the time of the Yankees’ trade for Soriano on July 26, General Manager Brian Cashman said acquiring him had been a difficult decision because the team had to give up the promising pitcher Corey Black. But in 31 games, Soriano has 12 home runs and 35 runs batted in, and he has been partly responsible for the team’s recent offensive surge.

“He’s playing like an M.V.P.,” Girardi said.

Sabathia, though, faltered again in the fifth by allowing three runs, two of them on Danny Valencia’s home run on an 84-mile-per-hour changeup that floated over the middle of the plate.

Before the game, Girardi said he believed his team was capable of making a strong run in the season’s final 29 games because the offense was much improved from earlier in the season.

He proved prophetic. In the fifth, the Yankees scored five runs against Gonzalez without making an out, knocking him out of the game. In that inning, Gonzalez allowed the first six batters to reach base (double, double, home run, double, single, walk) before he was lifted for reliever T. J. McFarland. The climax of the inning was Ichiro Suzuki’s two-run homer, which gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead. They led the rest of the way.

“We never lost confidence, and now we have a good offense and a good lineup,” Soriano said.

Suzuki’s blast sent the Yankee Stadium crowd into a frenzy, resulting in some of the loudest cheers heard this year in the Bronx. By the time Mariano Rivera finished the ninth to earn his 39th save, Yankees fans were on their feet cheering.

The Yankees’ run toward the playoffs had begun with a playoff atmosphere.

INSIDE PITCH

The Yankees tweaked their rotation so the slumping Phil Hughes would avoid facing the Orioles. Originally set to pitch Sunday, Hughes switched spots with Andy Pettitte and will now pitch Monday against the Chicago White Sox. ... Second baseman Robinson Cano, who missed Wednesday’s game after he was struck on his left hand Tuesday, went 2 for 3 with two R.B.I. ... Orioles Manager Buck Showalter said he was uncertain whether the newly acquired slugger Mike Morse would be able to join the team in time for Saturday’s game.